Defendant in sex crimes case commits suicide

LAKE COUNTY - A Clearlake man charged for sex crimes committed against a minor fatally shot himself Friday.

Lake County District Attorney Don Anderson confirmed in an email Friday evening Steven Wayne Mitchell, 62, died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head in Clearlake.

Mitchell, faced five felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 stemming from two cases.

Mitchell was reportedly the subject of an ongoing investigation for alleged sexual misconduct with an 11-year-old Spring Valley girl, which was reported to the Sheriff's Department in October 2008. The incidents in the case allegedly occurred during the summer of 2008.

A jury was in deliberation at the time of Mitchell's death, Anderson stated.